Ed Miliband puts 22 new MPs on Labour's frontbench

Diane Abbot is the most striking appointment as Miliband announces the rest of his shadow team

Political rapprochement: Diane Abbott congratulates Ed Miliband after he won the Labour leadership election. He has made the leftwing rebel his shadow public health minister. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Monday 18 October 2010

In this report on the formation of Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet, Sharon Hodgson was included in a list of those MPs newly elected at this year's general election who are promoted immediately to frontbench positions. Rather, it was her constituency that was new. Sharon Hodgson has been an MP since 2005, first for Gateshead East and Washington West, and then in 2010, following boundary changes in her area, for Washington and Sunderland West.

Ed Miliband yesterday infused fresh young blood into his frontbench by appointing 22 of the 66 Labour MPs elected at the 2010 general election in an attempt to show he can reunify and re-energise his party.

He also appointed a smattering of MPs who were overlooked or cast out by Gordon Brown's regime. In probably the most striking single appointment, leftwing rebel Diane Abbott was made public health spokeswoman. After 23 years as a backbencher and more recently a TV presenter, she came last in the leadership election, winning the support of few MPs. Abbott will work alongside John Healey, the shadow health secretary.

The most prominent absentee from the list is Pat McFadden, the talented Blairite former shadow business secretary who failed to get elected to the shadow cabinet. Also missing are the former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw and former shadow higher education minister David Lammy.

McFadden, Lammy and Bradshaw all said they did not want to serve on the frontbench in what was described as amicable conversations.

Normally new MPs have to serve time on select committees or plough a lonely furrow on the backbenches before being promoted, but Miliband regards the new intake as so talented that he cannot afford to wait for them to gain more experience.

He also recognises that they have already had nearly five months to learn the ropes. Longer-serving MPs, some former ministers, are also being given jobs, including Andy Slaughter (justice), Karen Buck (work and pensions) and Alison Seabeck (communities). Buck is an expert on housing, likely to be one of the most controversial areas of welfare reform in the next year. Emily Thornberry, the Islington South MP who came within one or two votes of being elected outright onto the shadow cabinet, has been given a senior position shadowing the department of health.

Fiona MacTaggart, MP for Slough, has been given the junior job of shadowing equalities under Yvette Cooper, the shadow foreign secretary. Chris Bryant, the talented former European minister is shadow minister for political reform. He has been a strong advocate of electoral reform and an elected House of Lords.

Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham, and Anne McGuire will be private parliamentary secretaries to Miliband.

Other new intake MPs that have been put straight onto the front bench include Luciana Berger, MP for Liverpool Wavertree, one of Labour's safest seats. She is to work in energy and climate change, a department which was run by Miliband himself.

Toby Perkins the man who surprisingly captured Liberal Democrat held seat of Chesterfield has also been promoted shadow Michael Gove's education. department.

Stephen Pound has been given a job in the whip's office.

Miliband's office was emphasising that the appointments showed the extent to which he was intent on reuniting the party after the bruising battle with his brother for the leadership.

Supporters of the rival leadership teams such as Vernon Coaker, a supporter of Ed Balls, and Gerry Sutcliffe, the campaign organiser for Andy Burnham, have both been promoted.